Bigger Than Love
by theresolution
Summary: What would happen if Jacob had imprinted on Bella? Can Bella choose between the love of her life and her natural soul mate? Set after Edward leaves- not sure about ratings yet, but T is a little intense
1. A Hole in Your Heart

**Author's Note: Hey generous readers of a n00b! Thanks for stopping by to read my story! I was originally writing a BATB fanfic, but this idea came to me and I found myself thinking about this story all the time so I had to write it and it started haunting me. Anyway, I wanted to give a preview because... I'm impatient. I want to give a shout-out to Meg cause she's amazing and inspired me a lot. (lol no one is gonna read this- I'm pretty much talking to myself) Please enjoy. If you review, I love you! Try not to rip me to shreds, though, but I love idea of how to make my story better. And here we go, drumroll please...**

I fussed at my hair absentmindedly while consuming a bowl of cereal quickly before school. I liked to keep my hands busy, even though I have Charlie, my best friend Jacob, and lots of kids at school who'd be more than happy to keep me happy, the only person who could truly make me happy was Edward. And he was gone. And as a result I usually tried to withdraw myself about two steps from reality, because I'd thrown myself into life once. That sucked.

"Bella? Bella? Bella!"

"Huh, what? Oh. Dad, yeah?"

"Tonight is the Super Bowl, we're going over to the Blacks, okay?"

"Sounds great, Dad. I'm gonna head to school now, love you."

I grabbed my rain jacket before he had a chance to reply, and then walked out to my truck. I pulled myself into the driver's seat and double pumped the parking brake to get it started, then pulled out of the driveway. I passed the small forest next to my house that always breaks my heart. That was where _it_ happened. Where the love of my life left me with no warning. But it'd been months, it was already February, and I had a great new life. I forced my mind to begin thinking about tonight; I'd get to see Jacob.

Jacob was the reason I'd been able to hold myself together. At first, I could barely walk or eat or sleep. Everything I did reminded me of him, all my classes had been with him, all my spare time spent with Edward, every food I'd ever eaten in front of him, every outfit I'd ever worn with him, every night I went to bed- I thought of him. My Dad had re-introduced me to Jacob about a month after the tragedy. Jacob was my safe harbor, I thought of him as a best friend and a go-to guy. Just his smile made me happy; and he would do anything for me. When I wanted to ride a motorcycle, he taught me. When I wanted to get away from Charlie, he'd given me an excuse. But especially, when I needed somewhere to go to just sit and cry, put myself into a little ball and open the Edward file of my heart, he'd be there. Not to cheer me up, to let me just get it out- my personal therapist was practically his full-time job.

I arrived at school with the Edward file all tucked away in the darkest corners of my brain and the emotions in check. I was greeted by Angela, one of the few girls who was still nice to me post-Edward.

"Hey, Bella." She greeted me enthusiastically.

"Hi, Angela. What's up?"

"Not much, just busy with the Calculus test! Have you done your homework yet?"

"Not, not yet. I think I might do it tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm totally bombing that class."

"Aww, I'm sure you're not. Don't beat yourself up." With that, the bell rang and we went our separate ways.

"Bye!" Angela called after me. I just nodded and headed off to class.

The day went slowly, but no more slowly than my days always go. Meaningless time in class isn't high on my to-do list; the only time that had any meaning was my allotted Jacob time. And even that was not as meaningful as I once knew time to be. I rushed out of my last period to make it through the parking lot to my old, beloved, truck. I was successful in my attempt to avoid people and made it halfway to my house when I decided I'd go to La Push instead. I had no homework but Calculus, and Jacob went to school on reservation so he'd be out and happy to see me; he always was. I pulled into the Blacks driveway after a 15-minute drive, elated to see Jacob on the porch.

"Bella!" he called to me.

"Jake, what are you doing outside? It's freezing," I said, shivering in the chilly rain.

Jacob just shrugged, though. "I don't even feel anything. Wanna come in?"

I simply nodded and followed Jacob into his house. He took my jacket and walked to the back room, signaling for me to follow. "What do you want to do? Watch TV? Talk? I have a lot to tell you."

I noticed Scrabble on his shelf and was suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to play. "Oh, Jake, can we play Scrabble? Please?"

"Of course, Bells." I smiled as he pulled the game down and set it up.

He went first; his word was 'GOES'. I laughed at how his hands looked gigantic compared to the little tiles.

"So how have you been, Jake? I haven't seen you in so long."

"I've just had a lot going on. Boy troubles, you know."

"Jacob, do _not_ tell me you've had boy trouble. Really, I miss you."

"I've had a lot of… changes going on recently." He smiled the huge, genuine smile that warmed my heart.

"Going through puberty? Did you recently get your period?"

"Yeah, Bella. I did, actually. I'm going to need some help, please."

"Anything for you Jacob."

"Good."

We continued playing in silence for a while. It wasn't an awkward silence like it was with others; it was more of a good silence. Like the moment was so perfect, so content, no words could further the happiness of it. The blissful game ended when I played 'exultant'; Jacob's competitive edge came out.

"Jeez, Bella. They sure teach you a lot in that fancy school of yours."

"Pretty much. I'm a genius."

"What has Ms. Genius been up to?"

"Nothing- I'm _always_ available. It's you who is missing whenever I call."

"I'm sorry, Bella. I promise- I'll be here for you more. Forever, really."

Ruby red color immediately flushed my face; why did Jacob _say_ that? "Jake, you're way, way too sweet. I don't deserve this. Stop."

"Whatever you want, Bells. But I thought you needed to know… you're amazing."

"Jacob Black- you are quite the flatterer."

I was across the table from him sitting on the ground, but I suddenly felt myself being pulled to Jake, like a falling object is drawn to the ground. Unalterable gravity. I got up and sat beside Jacob, leaning my head onto his high shoulder. The position was awkward because his shoulder was just _so_ high up. And he could feel it.

"Bella, why don't we readjust?"

Originally, the couch had been his backrest, but he slid himself up to the red leather couch, and then put his hands under my arms and delicately placed me beside him with seemingly no effort. He stretched his feet over the arm of the couch, and put me on his lap so that my head was resting on his warm chest; his long hair tumbled over into my face and it smelled amazing.

"Perfect." His smile gleamed as he ran his fingers through my hair and I fidgeted a little until I was curved perfectly around his oversized body.

"Mmm," I agreed. I didn't sit there for but five minutes before his warm arms caused my muscle tension to unravel and the next thing I know he as gently shaking me.

"Bells? It's been almost two hours, people are starting to arrive. We'd better start to look decent." He flashed his tooth grin at me.

"Wha," I started, scratching my head. "What happened?"

My hair was a mess flung across my face. I brushed it back and rubbed my hands across my face.

"Did I fall asleep?! Oh, no! I'm sorry Jake."

"Don't be sorry, let's just get ready." And then we walked into the Super Bowl party; for once my percent of happiness was in the 90s.


	2. You've Gotta Put it Together

**Hey guys! Oh my goodness it has been 45 days since I updated, sorry! Honestly, I'm welllll into this fanfic. I planned on putting it all up at once, because I felt better about it that way. So I wrote fervently, sometimes doing three chapters at once. However, I found myself... not quite inspired. When I started this story, I thought of it about 10AM. I pondered over it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I felt drained from writing so much... like it wasn't good- too rushed. So I stopped thinking about it, period. I thought about writing more, but life happened, then I found myself on vacation... blahblahblah. Then last night, as I'm going to bed, I think about my fanfic. That night, I kid you not, I dreamt I was on a date with Edward AND Jacob. It was pretty much amazing, cause I got to kiss Edward in my dream. :) But, I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about the dream either. I came back inspired and ready to write (lol how sappy) so yeah. Here it is. Chapter 3 will be up soon. :) :) :) Thanks for reading- please review if you have anything meaningful to say. (that includes critiques, I want to know how to make it better)**

The following Saturday, I woke up early to head to La Push. Jacob called me around 8 and said he wanted to talk to me. So, wearing jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, and my ever-present rain jacket, I drove to La Push in a light layer of rain. The rain made me feel safe, surprisingly. Having the rain ever-present rain made me feel protected- it was predictable and I felt safe near it. I pulled into Jake's driveway to find him waiting for me with an umbrella.

"Thanks, Jake." I said, running to underneath the rain's cover. He led me into his house and I began to take off my jacket.

"No, no, no. I want you to come outside with me."

I snorted. "Have you been outside, Jacob? It's raining like crazy."

"Please, Bella. There's a place we can stay out of the rain."

"Fine." I agreed, but quickly added my own fine print, "But if I get wet, we go inside."

"I won't get you wet." He gave me an umbrella then opened his back door for me. He led me gently with his hand on the small of my back, gently guiding me to his shed.

"Jake, I've been here a thousand times, you could have just told me that's where we were going."

He was silent. "Sit, sit." He encouraged.

"Jake, what's this about?"

"Bella, just let me talk right now."

"You know how Edward is a vampire?"

"Yeah, of course, but Jacob, please I know you don't like him. You don't have to say it." I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to disguise the way I held my heart together when his name was mentioned. It wasn't fair of Jacob to throw his name around like it was a part of my daily life- didn't he know how much it _hurt_?

He placed one finger on my lips. "That's not what this is about. But vampires aren't the limit to the supernatural. I'm… a werewolf."

"Pwhahah! Jacob, seriously."

"No, I really am. I'm serious. I can phase if you… want." The sides of my lip turned downward from their former smile. Suddenly, he walked to the opposite side of the shed, then back again. And again, and again. He was pacing; he was anxious, jumpy and very obviously troubled. He was _serious_.

"No, I … I mean…just, uh, go, on. I mean… Jake, I…" I counted to ten to make my thoughts coherent. "Go on."

He nodded slightly then continued, "Well, Sam's whole little 'group' turned out to be a pack of werewolves. Turns out the legends were true."

He looked down as if he was embarrassed by this fact. How was he supposed to know half-men, half-wolves were real? "Aw, Jake, if you think I'm not gonna like you anymore, you're so wrong. You'll always be my best friend."

"No, umm. It's not like that. There's more. We do this thing called imprinting. It's really just a bunch of crazy legends. It's like when you see a girl, you know she is the one for you. Automatically. You'll do absolutely anything in the world for that person. I talked to Sam; he imprinted on Emily. And, well, Bella, the way I feel about you is so… strong. Every fiber of my being wants to protect you, to hold you, to make you my own. Whenever I see you, I want to give you everything you desire."

I opened my mouth to interject logic, but he hushed me with his finger again.

"Let me finish." He said simply before continuing. "You are everything I'd ever wanted, and everything I didn't think existed until I saw you. I love you in a way that I didn't even think was _real_. I've imprinted on you, Bells. I don't know if I can ever leave you."

Slowly, during his speech, he gravitated towards me until he was inches from my face; he took my head tenderly in his hands and placed it on his chest. Something warm and wet touched my scalp; was he crying? Inside, my heart was breaking. I loved Edward, but I also loved Jacob. How _much_, though?

"I, uhh, Jacob…" I waited a moment, I didn't know how to tell him. "…Edward."

The simple word Edward was all the explanation he needed to know how I felt right then.

"I know, but Bella- I LOVE YOU. More than I love myself."

"Jacob, I can't do this to you. I'm in love with Edward. I've already loved and lost, been there done that. I'm no good for you. I've been too hurt; I can't love again. I'm sorry I did this to you."

I ran out of the shed into the now pouring rain and the tears starting falling hard. Jacob ran after me and put his brawny hand on my shoulder to stop me from going any farther.

"Bella, don't apologize! You did nothing. I wish you'd think about it. I can be good for you. Better than your bloodsucker ever was. I'm ten times more human than him."

"That's not what I need!" I screamed at him. How dare he open the Edward-file?! And to jeer at him, no less.

"Bella just hear me out. Remember yesterday, you fell asleep on my lap. Obviously, you like me too! Why don't you just give this a shot?"

My frantic breathing started to calm. But I wasn't going to be convinced that easily.

"Jacob- I love _Edward_. He was… is… my everything. He gave me life, he lit up my world and I can never love like that again. Ever."

But Jacob was persistent. "Just try, Bella. Imprinting isn't something you can turn off if the person doesn't want you back- I'm never going to be able to leave you alone. I need you like I need oxygen, if you aren't safe and happy, I can't be either."

The tears streamed even heavier; Jake noticed. "I'm not expecting you to love me today or tomorrow, or even next year. But I am in love with you, Bells. And I just want to be with you. Okay? Okay, Bells?"

I nodded through my tears. "Now there," he said, "you look beautiful."

Jacob pushed the hair out of my eyes and wiped my tears. He gently held my chin up to his face. I found myself standing tiptoe to see his face.

"I love you." He said.

"Jake, please don't."

"Of course."

His toothy grin appeared and I knew this was the only way. "One kiss, please Bella?"

I couldn't kiss him. "It's not that easy, Jacob."

"Please, Bella. All I've wanted since I first imprinted was to kiss you. Please grant my wish."

The next thing I knew, his rough scent was too close to me, his large hands wrapped protectively around my waist drawing me closer. He leaned in to kiss me, but I pushed him away as hard as I could. "I. Can't."

Jacob, finally, understood. Better late than never. "Okay."

"I think I need to go home."

"Fair enough, but call soon, okay?"

"Of course, Jake." That much I could do.

He walked me to my car and then hugged me in a bear hug with his gigantic arms. "I love you, Bells."

I didn't look up to meet his eyes; he couldn't see me cry this hard. He might never let me leave, and I needed time to think.

"Bye, Jacob."

The smile of my best friend Jacob emerged and I was able to accept that smile and drive away without being insane.


End file.
